Automotive Technicians Technical Discussion and Fixes for Mar 11, 2014

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	Help Request	Answers
	2004 Acura RSX 2.0L front axle VIN: JH4DC53854 Car has a severe repetitive clunking from front(almost center front of car) when accelerating on ice with both front wheel spinning. You have to hold the gas pedal in just the right position to get the "sweet spot". I can get the clunking to happen across my e...	View
	2003 Audi A4 Quattro 3.0L No Start, Stall VIN: WAULT68E23 Customer complained of stalling when stopping or turning with foot off gas. At that time the car did have a code for the cam sensor out of range. replaced that sensor(g40). Thinking that would take care of the cars problem. Test drive car after repair and afte...	View
	2009 Audi A4 Quattro Cabriolet 2.0L battery VIN: WAUDF48H79 Customer states this A4's battery will be discharged if it sits not driven for several days. Customer states they have not changed their habits on frequency of driving this vehicle. Problem apparently recently started. Our testing shows the battery good, charg...	View
	2005 BMW Z4 2.5i 2.5L Whistle VIN: 4USBT33575 Have this fine BMW that customer is concerned about a "Whistle" heard upon accel that starts about 1500-2000 rpm. It's not there upon hard accel or deccel or higher rpms. As it warms up it diminishes. I smoked intake thru brake booster hose(capping off MAF) an...	View
	2006 BMW 325i 3.0L alumn head bolt VIN: WBAVB13536 Hi Guys, I pulled back the intake manifold and replaced the bolt, cleaned everything and test drove the car substantialy, no more oil leaking. I understand there are 2 or 3 other aluminium head bolts under the valve cover. Question is: are those supposed to be...	View
	2002 Cadillac Escalade 6.0L No Start VIN: 1GYEK63N72 Have a high mileage escalade driving us nuts. Vehicle was towd in for a no start. Had 0 fuel pressure and guage reading empty. Cust said there is def gas in her so we dropped the tank to check the pump and to check for power. we had no power. Since it was the ...	View
	1998 Chevrolet K2500 Cheyenne 5.7L transfer case VIN: 1GCGK29R9W the t/case is searching for position with the key off.with ignition on it will search and land only in 4lo.the relay in the tccm clicks and sends power from blk to red wires at the encoder motor. i have unpugged all the peripheralls that input to the TCCM and ...	View
	1999 Chevrolet Corvette 5.7L Hard start. VIN: 1G1YY22G9X Customer just purchased this vehicle. Fuel pressure drops off immediately after the pump shuts off. I plugged the return line on the fuel filter and the pressure still drops off. I disconnected the fuel line from the fuel rail and checked the pressure at the l...	View
	2000 Chevrolet Suburban 2500 LT 6.0L fuel gauge VIN: 3GNGK26UXY Hello there I have this Suburban here with a gas gauge that stopped working but the low level light is on. Dropped the tank and replaced the wiring that had been replaced when the pump was replaced last. Put a resistor on the harness side of wiring and the gau...	View
	2004 Chevrolet Blazer LS 4.3L Electrical VIN: 1GNCS13X14 This Blazer has no gear indicator and no odometer readout. Also no BCM codes. Have replaced the ignition switch and the lock cylinder because the lock cylinder was worn out and the weird thing is the readouts work in between off and run and in between run and ...	View
	1996 Chrysler Cirrus LXi 2.5L Poor Idle Quality this thing is idling around 2000 rpms. put used motor in it. replaced water pump timing belt and all tensior and idler pulley. I have check timing several times it right on the money. has new pluga and wires also. smoked it and I have no vaccum leaks. it run s...	View
	2003 Chrysler Town & Country EL 3.3L MIL Lamp on VIN: 2C4GP24R13 this one has me scratching my head. the van came in with the cel on. no other symptoms. plug in my snapon solus ultra get no comm. use my little code zapper and get P1684. switch the key 3 times and same code. says i lost power to the tcm. i can communicate wi... Trouble codes: P1684 (lost power to tcm)	View
	2005 Chrysler Pacifica Limited 3.5L Pass. Windows And Locks VIN: 2C8GF784X5 Car came from another shop hoping chrysler guys can help !! the right side locks,windows,mirror do not work from drivers side switch ... But they all work when i go to each door! the only thing that works from drivers side is dr. Side front and back window but...	View
	1996 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9L No Start VIN: 3B7HF13Z6T this vehicle showed up after 3 other mechanics worked on it. has new computer, coil, spark plugs, cam and crank sensors. customer said when they changed computer it ran for 2 days then same problem no start. spark plugs are gas soaked. fuel pressure is 49psi. ...	View
	1997 Dodge Ram 3500 5.9L Hard Start VIN: 1B6MF36D1V Greetings fellow techs, Goy one in late yesterday afternoon that we could use some help with. 1997 Dodge Ram 3500 with a 5.9 Diesel was brought in with customer complaining of a hard start especially when cold. After leaving truck sit for awhile, I went to ver...	View
	2000 Dodge Caravan 3.0L Excessive Emissions, Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Surge, Cuts out, Stall, Misfire, Poor Fuel Economy, MIL Lamp on VIN: 2B4GP2533Y Vehicle came to me with crank sensor dropping out/losing sync. Crank sensor mounting ear broken off and plastic housing cracked from attempted removal. The sensor is seized in the bellhousing tight. Advised the customer that trans removal may be required, but ...	View
	2000 Dodge Dakota SLT 4.7L Poor Idle Quality, Stall, MIL Lamp on, No start when hot VIN: 1B7GL2AN7Y Vehicle came in running very poorly, a broken manifold vacuum was repaired.spark plugs and coils 4&8 were replaced.vehicle runs smooth now, until it gets hot and you shut it off for a few minutes. Then the vehicle will not start.after the vehicle cools to belo... Trouble codes: P0171	View
	2000 Ford Focus SE 2.0L Excessive Emissions, Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Surge, Misfire VIN: 1FAFP34P9Y OK guys here goes,, 2000 focus 2.0 intermittently runs rough at idle. if you goose it you get a heavy stumble on accel. when this stumble occurs the MPH will bounce between 0 and 12 mph. the problem is intermittent. the last time i drove it hit a large pot hol...	View
	2005 Ford Freestyle SEL 3.0L Power Windows, Radio, Delayed Accessory Relay VIN: 1FMDK05125 Good morning everyone, This vehicle was recently sold and has come back with complaint of the passenger mirror smoking and sparking, power windows and radio inoperative. I found that the bubble lamp in the passenger mirror had shorted out. fixed this problem a...	View
	2007 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0L 4 wheel drive VIN: 1FTZR45E07 Greetings. We have this 07 Ranger that 'pops out' of four wheel drive. The 4 wheel drive indicator does not go out when this happens. You just hear a small 'thunk' and then you are in 2 wheel drive. There is no ratcheting like stripping splines or any other no...	View
	2009 Ford Expedition Limited 5.4L No Start VIN: 1FMFU19509 Starts fine run it for about 15 min than turn it off wait for 1-2 min crank wont start . Tested the relay pwr. And ground. Cleaned the 106g the resr ok . One time i tryed the koeo self test got [...] p0208 codes p025a -and u0109.let it sit starts right up ... Trouble codes: P0690 (Pcm pwr. Relay circuit memory)	View
	2011 Ford Taurus Limited 3.5L remot start VIN: 1FAHP2JW8B Vehicle has Ford installed after market remote start. Need to program new ford one button remote FOBS Part number from Ford=7L2Z-15K601-AA Found install instructions for model with ignition key, this is push button start. Thanks in advance	View
	2000 Honda Accord LX 3.0L Immobilizer VIN: 1HGCG1649Y Good morning everyone. We have come across this issue at times, and don't know yet of a way around it. We have a bad pcm, but can'not reprogram for immobilizer without towing vehicle to dealer. Does anyone have a way, or software to do this at their shop? we w...	View
	2002 Honda Civic LX 1.7L Oil VIN: 2HGES15802 Civic came in for oil leak and clutch replacement. Oil was all over the place, cleaned and added dye - found o-ring in oil pump was leaking and the rear main seal was leaking. Replaced o-ring and front crank seal, replaced rear main seal and oil pan gasket (al...	View
	2000 Jeep Wrangler Sport 4.0L No Start, No Crank VIN: 1J4FA49SXY This is a difficult problem to diagnose because I cannot reproduce the symptom (no crank/no start) and as of now everything is working perfectly. The customer complains that ever since she has had this jeep it has intermittently (sometimes more than 6 months i...	View
	2006 Jeep Commander 3.7L dash controls VIN: 1J8HG48K56 customer has had numerous times of loosing interior accessories such as lights,dash gauges,hvac blower,radio and wipers while just driving along.Vehicle continues to run and problem usually corrects itself by shutting off vehicle and restarting. We were only a...	View
	2005 Kia Rio 1.6L Oil Consumption VIN: KNADC12535 Hello, I am having problems with this Kia, I replaced the engine due to a blown timing belt and the valves dropping into the cylinders. The 'new' engine uses oil, about 3 quarts every 2,000 miles. I have tried Lucas, and some Justice Brothers oil additives, an...	View
	2006 Kia Sorento EX 3.5L Leak VIN: KNDJC73366 Customer referred to me from another business for a leaking front differential axle seal. Axle was loose in differential. Removed, disassembled differential. The left side axle had galling/metal transfer from stub and inside of carrier. Bearings were wiped. Re...	View
	1995 Lincoln Town Car Signature 4.6L Hesitation, Cuts out, Stall VIN: 1LNLM82W0S Hello people, PAST REPAIRS Engine would hesitate for a few seconds only during the first start every morning, after moving the throttle. A new IAC valve and ECT sensor were installed, problem went away. Current problem happened for the first time 2 years ag...	View
	2005 Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG 5.5L Transfer case VIN: WDCYR71E85 Instrument display says "TC in neutral". When trying to switch between High and Low, it says something like "conditions not fulfilled". I found the following codes: P2213 - Signal from component direction sensor implausible and 240D - Current transfer case pos...	View
	1992 Nissan R32 Skyline 2.0L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Surge, Cuts out, Misfire The Customer brought it in as is. Engine was sitting for long time, it recently had head gaskets, water pump, oil pump and timing belt replaced. On first start up we noticed throttle hesitation or delay when throttle is pressed, it's running super rich, and th... Trouble codes: 55 (System normal)	View
	2004 Nissan 350Z Touring 3.5L Poor Idle Quality, Misfire, MIL Lamp on VIN: JN1AZ36AX4 Customer originally brought the car to me after being shipped from Florida to Arizona. The car would not start, after some digging I found the ground cable on the passenger side body, under the steering reservoir was not attached. I secured the ground and the ... Trouble codes: P0300 (Random Misfire)	View
	2007 Pontiac G6 2.4L Electronic steering VIN: 1G2ZG58B27 I have this '07 Pontiac G6 that the customer says the steering gets hard, no assist, she pulls over, shuts the car off and restarts it and power steering resumes, may do it a couple of times a day or may not do it for a few days, no codes stored, no worn or bi...	View
	2009 Porsche Cayenne 3.6L MIL Lamp on VIN: WP1AA29P39 I have found a vacuum leak at the rear of the valve cover just above where the crankcase vent hose attaches- There is a small hole? i believe a bleed hole or something?? definatly a hole that was designed to be on the valve cover (not broken or drilled)... Has... Trouble codes: P2189, P2187, P0507	View
	2004 Saturn Ion-3 2.2L Excessive Emissions VIN: 1G8AL52F54 Car Came In With Running Rich Complant. We Tested Sensor Reading And Fuel Trims Will Go From One Extream To The next. Seen As High as -50 on Short term Fuel trim. ( Seems Only to go that High On Acceleration). At Times ST Trimn Reading Will Drop To + 20 ( Usua...	View
	2005 Saturn Vue 2.2L Instrument cluster VIN: 5GZCZ43D55 Hello. Have this Vue from hell. Just repaired the trans and them an issue with wiring to trans from underhood fuse block. Anyway had an issue with reduced power light issue. After performing many tests on connectors, TB, pedal, etc have shot the ECM. Do not ...	View
	2007 Saturn Ion-3 2.2L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1G8AL55F87 hey guys need your help with this one my boss sold this car "finaced" i forgot to right down the code but I know its an accelerator pedal and tps correlation code. I aready tried a new throtle body and a new accelerator pedal with no luck. its intermittent som...	View
	1999 Subaru Legacy Limited 30th Anniversary 2.5L headgaskets VIN: 4S3BG6855X my question is we have a Subaru with head gaskets surprise surprise , so my question is dealer gasket or aftermarket ( napa) ive heard people on both sides say each is ok , so I just am curious as to what u guys think also any helpful hints would be appreciate...	View
	1996 Toyota 4Runner SR5 3.4L ac clutch The ac clutch will not stay engaged at idle. It usually engages when first tried but after 10 minutes or so it cuts out and will not enage again unless one of the following 2 things occur: 1- It will engage and stay on if I cruise down the road at 35-70 mph. ...	View
	1998 Toyota Camry CE 2.2L Excessive Emissions, Poor Idle Quality, Cuts out, Stall, Misfire VIN: 4T1BG22K3W This car came into my shop barely running.It is very hard to start & when it does start it does not have any power at all.I replaced the timing belt about 800 miles ago.I pulled the covers off to re-check my timing marks & found no problem.I then scanned the c...	View
	1999 Volkswagen EuroVan GLS 2.8L transmission VIN: WV2KH2701X One short quick question for anybody whose been there. Got this '99 Volkswagen Eurovan that is at a local tranny shop. Has a harsh 1-2 shift. All other shifts o.k. Trans shop got a used unit but rebuilt it before installing. Replaced valve body with reman. Had...	View

Fixes & Summaries for All Makes and Models

	Fix/Summary	Answers
	2006 BMW 750Li 4.8L Excessive Emissions, Poor Idle Quality, Misfire, Poor Fuel Economy, MIL Lamp on VIN: WBAHN83526 Thanks to all for your input. I finally pulled the valve cover and found that the axle shaft of the #2 front intake valve intermediate lever was gone and the roller was floating around doing nothing. The camshaft was working against the rails of the lever and ... Trouble codes: 29CE, 29CC, 29F5.	11
	2006 Cadillac Escalade 6.0L radio volume VIN: 1C12WG1GGH I ended up taking it to an audio shop that specializes in radios. Turns out amp was ok but head unit was bad. thanks for the replies and hope this helps someone else in the future.	10
	2005 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4.3L Stall VIN: 1GCEC19X35 THANKS EVERYONE WHO HELPED!! I PULLED APART THE LOOM FROM THE COIL TO THE IGNITION MODULE AND FOUND WHERE SOME ONE HAD CUT AND SPLICED THE PRIMARY COIL WIRES. THEY JUST TWISTED THE WIRES, NO SOLDER OR BUTT CONNECTOR. JUST BLACK TAPE HOLDING THE WIRES APART, I'...	8
	2011 Chevrolet Tahoe LT 5.3L unknown VIN: 1GNSKBE00B After trial and error, I have not eliminated the noise. I tried both the upper and lower intermediate shafts with no fix. I replaced the clock spring and still the noise was present. I googled this noise and I found out this is a problem with newer GM trucks. ...	6
	2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 2.7L E flasher/turn signals VIN: WDYPD64495 I appreciate all the help. Removed #1 fuse panel AGAIN and used an emery board to file the relay contacts. The 11.5v. issue appeared to be due to other relays being energized during the initial KOEO. Lasted about 30 sec. Again thanks to all who responded. ...	3
	2006 Dodge Caravan SE 3.3L No Start VIN: 1D4GP25R16 ended taking to Chrysler with a diagnoses of bad computer, they checked everything I checked same conclusion. found that vehicle is from newyork and brought into Canada, was locked in antitheft but with no antitheft, someone installed new cluster and Canadian ...	12
	2006 Dodge Stratus SXT 2.4L Surge, Cuts out VIN: 1B3EL46X96 Don't know what the deal was with the signals, but rechecking yesterday got cam and crank signals which both looked normal, even when the car was acting up. Ended up replacing both cam and crank sensors with OE parts (what else would you put on a Chrysler pro... Trouble codes: P0344.	8
	2009 Dodge Ram 5500 Laramie 6.7L Cooling Systems VIN: 3D6WC76LX9 THANKS TO ALL WHO RESPONDED AFTER EXHAUSTING ALL THE TESTS I CAN RUN ON THIS TRUCK I HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IT'S NOT BROKE. IT HAS BEEN VERY COLD THIS WINTER IN OUR PART OF THE COUNTRY HIGH TEMPS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS. EVERY TIME THIS THING WAS TEST D...	6
	2003 Ford Crown Victoria LX 4.6L auto temp control VIN: 2FAFP74W23 We have defeated the evil ATC system on this Crown Vic thanks to a suggestion from Rodney. Thanks for the idea! We attached our Verus tool and lab scoped the blend air door control, ambient sensor, and in-car sensor. Everything worked as designed for approx 3...	8
	2001 Honda CR-V EX 2.0L Engine VIN: JHLRD18611 Thank you to all the help provided . At this point the customer does not want to move forward so I can not post a complete repair. I did however see a big reduction in oil usage after adding a can of BG RF7 . I know this just thickened the oil up but it did he...	26
	2008 Kia Sorento LX 3.3L Stall VIN: KNDJC73508 THANKS FOR ALL THE GREAT HELP. THIS WAS A STRANGE ONE. WAS FINALLY ABLE TO DUPLICATE PROBLEM. I HAD TO START THE VEHICLE COLD AND TAKE OFF DRIVING, WOULD START RUNNING BAD AND TRY TO DYE AT STOPS. CAR WARMED UP IN CLOSED LOOP WOULD NOT FAIL. EVERYONE WAS RIGHT... Trouble codes: P2196 (Ho2 signal stuck rich).	9
	2005 Mercedes-Benz C230 Kompressor 1.8L Eis VIN: WDBRF40JX5 Thanks for all the replies. It appears that EIS switchs do go bad. Now i know why i haven't replaced any., consensus is that needs to be done at dealer, or if your lucky enough to have Mercedes sell you one, has to be coded. Sending her to dealer...	7
	1999 Oldsmobile Alero GL 2.4L instrument lighting VIN: 1G3NL52T9X i installed a jumper wire in fuse block that was long enough to use my low amp probe with the door shut. i graphed the current draw with lights on @ 2.6 amps. i than opened each door and when i got to the driver door amp's jumped to 18 momentarily with movemen...	5
	2005 Saturn Vue 2.2L Communication Thanks to those whom replied to this post. Turned out that in the transmission removal process which requires separation of underhood fuse block, the wire that powers the TCM Ignition 1 voltage circuit 639 was damaged. I tested for continuity and seem fine u...	3
	1996 Toyota Camry DX 2.2L Poor Idle Quality, Hesitation, Cuts out, Stall VIN: 4T1BG12K4T well I wish I could say this one is fixed but it seems to be unfixable vehicle has a hodgepoge mixture of parts from different years so without doing extensive research to match part numbers to the year customer opted to sell vehicle to wrecking yard I wish I ...	17
	1999 Toyota Camry LE 3.0L all accessories VIN: 4T1BF28K6X Pierre from Quebec gave me a good idea .unplugged ignition switch to find which wire had power when it shouldn't.It was the wire that supplies power to gauges and abs.It was then simple to find that the ABS hydraulic unit was faulty and stuck in the on positio...	6
	2003 Toyota Highlander 3.0L No Start, Poor Idle Quality, Misfire VIN: JTEGF21A13 Well this thing is down the road thanks to all the guys on here. It ended up being two broken terminals on the pcm C9 connector. The tangs inside the 2 pins had broken causing an non stable connection. I replaced the pins and everything started working as is s... Trouble codes: P0351 (Ign primary 1), P0352 (Ign primary 2), P0353 (Ign primary 3), P0354 (Ign primary 4), P0355 (Ignprimary 5), P0356 (Ign primary 6).	11

(Also Available: All, Asian, Chrysler, European, Ford, GM.)